I had just returned from my weekly climbing session this afternoon, and was making myself a cup of tea, when the door bell rang. To my great surprise and pleasure the visitor was a friend I have known for many years. In fact, he and I were both involved in my first significant exhibiting venture in Bradford. John happened to be in the area and dropped by on the off-chance that I might be at home. So, we sat in the kitchen and drank tea together while we talked.
John Colton is somebody who I admire greatly, for a variety of reasons. I do like his paintings, and was pleased to hear that he has had an exhibition in France, with the prospect of another. Not surprisingly, I felt a twinge on envy, in the light of my own unrealised hopes that my Italian series might get an airing in that country. Nevertheless, I was delighted for him. Of course, after he left I fell to musing about the basis of his success. It didn’t take me long to find an answer.
John is not only a painter but also a climber (among several other things). One undeniable reason for the interest in his work is that he is probably the only painter who actually works above 3,000 m. above sea level. Yes: unlike my Pennine pottering, John is a regular visitor to the Alps, and lugs his painting materials up to the top of mountains, not capturing the scene with photographs he then uses as reference material back in the studio, but actually painting in situ. I would count it as an achievement beyond anything I can contemplate, if I reached the places to which he climbs, let alone produced competent pictures while I was up there.
The answer to my opening question is simple. If you want to get your work exhibited then it not only has to be OK, but it has to be something that nobody else could ever contemplate being able to do.